"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

The story begins with a man named Thomas Ball, who committed suicide in the most horrific way, by setting himself on fire in front of a New Hampshire courthouse. . . . Despite the deep wrongness of his cause . . . a number of anti-feminist types have declared him a hero and a martyr for their cause. Ball also characterized himself as a Tea Partier and his act as an act of violent protest against the state, and calls for insurrection and revolt. This has caused his base of support to expand dramatically, and you’re seeing Glenn Reynolds and his wife supporting this act of violence. . . .
Well, now all sorts of wingnuts are flipping out and calling me “evil”, and even, flatteringly, comparing me to the whore of Babylon. . . .

You can read the whole thing, but only if you first say your prayers and cover your computer with garlic to ward off Her Diabolic Evilness. Otherwise, you might become possessed and cut your hair in bangs. (So as to hide the “666” on your forehead.)

It should be noted that I am anti-suicide as much as I am anti-terrorism and anti-feminism. If we’re assigning a five-star rating system to evils, suicide is at least four stars, slightly below terrorism and feminism, which are among several evils tied at 4-and-half stars. (Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is 5 stars.)

Neither did I proclaim Thomas Ball “a martyr and a hero,” and I think both Glenn Reynolds and the Instawife would dispute Marcotte’s tendentious characterization of their writing on this subject.

And I didn’t “compare” Amanda Marcotte to the whore of Babylon. Evidently, metaphor and hyperbole were among those subjects omitted from the curriculum, along with humor and self-awareness, at the Demonic Advanced Mephistophelean Nerd-Blogging Institute for Trolls and Cat-Hoarders . . .